flowers

About a month ago, a dear family brought me some daisies to church!  They’ve been on my table since.  Yesterday morning I sat at my table and noticed that several of them had finally started to wilt and dry up.   I was a bit dismayed at my dying flowers when my friend sitting with me, said “Sally, they’ve lived a long, beautiful life.   It’s ok.”  

In the context of the last 24 hours, those words hit home and they were about so much more than flowers.  

I went to pick up my neice Friday afternoon for my brother as the walls were crumbling down around my sister-in-law.   Driving home, Janey pointed out every flower she could see (which this time of year in Middle Tennessee — that’s more houses than not).   Apparently flowers are her thing of late.   She even had one in a pot she had painted for Mother’s Day.

We’re packing as best we could for the drive to virginia, amidst many tears and Janey’s hide n’ seek.    Sometime in there, Janey found her momma crying and she said hanging on to her neck:  Momma stop crying.   Don’t be sad.       At 2 years old she knows better than the rest of us who have lived longer in the realities of this world that we were not made for tears and sadness, but we were made for joy and laughter.   Just as we weren’t made for death, we were made for life.    Janey still knows the truth of how this world should be - and that should be a world where momma’s don’t have to cry and grieve.   

I knelt down next to them both and said “janey what’s your job this weekend?”   And in classic 2 year old style, Janey says with a huge grin on her face:  FLOWERS.  

Flowers - to be the flowers amidst all the sadness, all the tears, all the anger, all the grief.   Her job was FLOWERS but oh so much more than flowers.  

So Betty, here are my flowers for you on this Mothering Sunday.
For the mother and grandmother you were, you are and you will always be
(even to those who don’t technically belong to you).

 Deep peace, pure gold of the sun to you.

Deep peace, pure white of the moon to you.

Deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you.

Deep peace, pure green of the grass to you.

Deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you.

Deep peace, pure grey of the dew to you.

Deep peace, of the running wave to you.

Deep peace, of the whispering trees to you.

Deep peace, of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace, of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace, of the shining stars to you.

Deep peace, of the Son of Peace to you.

Betty, we’ll see you there.